Honey and the Hired Hand

Eight

"Did you steal the bull?" Mort asked.

"Yes," Jesse replied.

"Then where is it?" the rustler demanded.

"In a safe place."

"The Boss is waiting for that bull," Mort said. "You were supposed to bring it here." Mort spat chewing tobacco toward the horse trailer he had brought to transport the bull, and which would apparently be leaving empty.

"Plans change," Jesse said.

Mort's eyes narrowed. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Jesse stared right back at the grizzle-faced cowboy. "I've decided to renegotiate the terms of our agreement."

"The Boss ain't gonna like that," Mort warned ominously.

"If he doesn't like it, I can find another buyer for the bull," Jesse said.

"Now hold on a minute," Mort sputtered. "You can't-"

"Tell your boss to be here at midnight tonight," Jesse interrupted. "I'll be waiting with the bull, but I'll only deal with him in person. Tell him the price is double what we agreed on. In cash-small bills."

Mort was clearly alarmed by Jesse's ultimatum. "You're making a big mistake."

"If he wants the bull, he'll come."

It wasn't a subtle method of getting to the top man, Jesse thought, but it inevitably worked. Greed was like that. Of course he would have to watch out for the also inevitable double-cross. There was always the chance that bullets would start flying. He hoped he'd have enough backup to ensure that the guys in the white hats won.

Mort drove away grumbling, and Jesse got into his pickup and headed in the opposite direction from the Flying Diamond. He felt confident that his business for the Rangers would soon be finished. Then he could concentrate on what really mattered-his relationship with Honey. First he had to see Dallas to confirm the details of their plan to capture the brains behind the brawn tonight.

Jesse might have had second thoughts about how soon things were going to be wrapped up if he had known that his visit with Mort Barnes had been observed by another very interested party.

Honey was sweeping off the front porch when Adam Philips drove up later that same afternoon. She felt a momentary pang of guilt, but it was quickly followed by relief that she had ended their relationship. Considering they were no longer romantically involved, she couldn't imagine why Adam had come calling.

Honey laid the broom against the wooden wall of the house-noticing that it badly needed another coat of white paint-and stepped over to the porch rail. She held a hand over her brow to keep the sun out of her eyes. "Hello, Adam," she greeted him cautiously. "What brings you out here today?"

It wasn't anything good, Honey surmised after one look at the grim line of Adam's mouth. His features only seemed to get more strained as he left the car and headed up the porch steps toward her.

"Have a seat," Honey said, gesturing toward the wooden swing that hung from the porch rafters. She set a hip on the porch rail, facing the swing.

Adam sat down but abruptly jumped up again and marched over to stand before Honey. "How much do you really know about that man you hired to help around here?"

"Not a lot," Honey admitted with a shrug. "He has a degree in ranch management and-"

"Did it ever occur to you to wonder why a man with a degree in ranch management is content to work as a mere hired hand?'' Adam demanded.

Honey stared at him. It hadn't, of course. She hadn't questioned anything about Jesse's story. Which was why his revelation that he was a Texas Ranger had caught her so much off guard. It was clear Adam was still suspicious of Jesse's motives. But there was no reason for him to be. "You don't have to worry about Jesse," she said.

"What makes you so sure?"

"Because he's a Texas Ranger."

"What?" Adam looked stunned.

Honey grinned. "He's working undercover to catch the rustlers who've been stealing cattle around here. I don't think he'll mind that I told you, but keep it under your hat, okay?"

Adam gave her a sharp look. "Did you know all along that he was a Texas Ranger?"

"I only found out myself this morning," she admitted.

Adam stuck his thumbs into the pockets of his Levi's. He pursed his lips and shook his head ruefully. "Looks like I've been a real fool. I thought that he- Never mind. I'll be going now. I've got some calls to make before dark."

"Adam," Honey called after him.

He stopped and turned back to her. "Yes, Honey?"

"Don't be a stranger."

A pained expression passed fleetingly across his face. He managed a smile and said, "All right. But don't look for me too soon, all right?"

"All right. Goodbye, Adam."

Honey worked alone the rest of the afternoon. She was grateful for Jack's absence because it gave her time to come to terms with Jesse's revelation that he was a Texas Ranger. Equally fortunate, she was spared Jesse's presence as well. He had left earlier to run some errands and hadn't returned.

Maybe it was better that they didn't spend too much time alone. Last night had been a moment out of time, almost too good to be true. It had certainly been too perfect to expect it to last. If only…

Honey thought about what she would have to give up to have Jesse in her life. Having a partner to share the responsibility of the ranch and to be there when she needed him, for one thing. She had sworn when Cale died that she would never marry another man who didn't put her needs, and the needs of the Flying Diamond, at least on an equal footing with his profession.

Although Adam's work as a doctor would have taken him away on occasion, his free time would have been devoted to her. He was wealthy enough to have hired a local man, Chuck Loomis, whose ranch had gone bust, to manage the Lazy S. Honey knew Adam also would have hired the help necessary to take care of the Flying Diamond and preserve it as a heritage for her sons.

Over the past fourteen years, Honey had fought the steady demise of her ranch. But her efforts alone-while Cale had been off fighting badmen-hadn't been enough to make all the repairs needed. The Flying Diamond was a shabby shadow of what it had been in the years when Cale's father had devotedly nurtured it.

She owed it to her sons to marry someone who could help her bring the Flying Diamond back to its former glory. Jesse could help her make it happen if he devoted himself full-time to running the ranch. But Honey couldn't imagine him being willing to leave the Texas Rangers for any reason, least of all because she asked it of him.

Even if she swallowed her pride and shouldered all the burdens of the Flying Diamond, she would still have to face the constant fear of losing Jesse to an outlaw's bullet. She couldn't bear the constant strain of not knowing whether he would come home to her at the end of the day.

The case Jesse was working on right now was a good example of what she could expect if he didn't quit the Rangers. He had told her the men he was hunting weren't just rustlers, they were murderers. They had killed a rancher in Laredo. If they ever found out a Texas Ranger had insinuated himself in their organization…Honey shuddered at the thought of what would happen to Jesse.

She hadn't forgotten what it felt like when she'd heard that Cale had been killed in the line of duty. She didn't ever want to suffer through that kind of anguish again. In the few weeks he had been around, Jesse had made a place for himself in her life and in her heart. She didn't want to contemplate how she would suffer if something went wrong and he was killed.

"Penny for your thoughts?"

Honey nearly fell backward over the porch rail. Jesse reached out and caught her, pulling her into his embrace. Honey's arms circled his broad shoulders and she looked into his amused face.

"Nearly lost you," he said. "What were you daydreaming about?"

She wasn't about to admit she had been worrying about him. "I was just thinking what good weather Jack has for tubing on the river."

"You mean he's not home yet?"

"No," she said, embarrassed by how breathless her voice sounded. Honey flushed at the intent look on Jesse's face as it suddenly dawned on him that they had the place to themselves. She swallowed hard and said, "Where have you been all day?"

"Doing business for the Texas Rangers," he admitted. "But I'm all yours now."

The leer on his face made it plain what he hoped she would do with him.

Honey was tempted to start a fight, or do whatever else was necessary to make Jesse angry enough to leave her alone. On the other hand, she was also very much aware of the sensual lure he had thrown out to her. Their time together was coming to a close. It was hard to say no when he was here, wanting her, desiring her, with his eyes and his voice and his body.

He reached out and tugged on the waistband of her jeans. The top button popped free.

"Don't even think it," she warned.

"You can read my mind?"

"Enough to know you're crazy."

"Probably certifiable," he admitted. "But if you don't tell, I won't."

He made growling sounds and bit her neck, sending a frisson of fire through her veins.

She grabbed Jesse's face to try to make him stop whatever tantalizing thing he was doing to her throat with his tongue, but he caught her hands and forced them behind her. Twining their fingers together, he used them to pull her between his widespread legs where his arousal was evident.

"Jesse," she protested with a breathless laugh. "We can't. It's broad daylight."

"There's no one to see," he said, thrusting against her and causing her to groan as her body responded to the urgency of his.

She was running out of excuses for him not to do what she so desperately wanted him to do. "Jack might come home."

"Then we'll just have to go where he won't find us," Jesse murmured conspiratorially.

Honey thought he meant her bedroom, but he obviously had other ideas. She gasped when he threw her over his shoulder and headed for the barn.

"Not the barn!" she hooted.

"Why not the barn?" he said with a grin.

"Hay itches."

He stopped and rearranged her in his arms so he could see her face. "Sounds like you speak from experience."

The color rose on Honey's cheeks. When Jesse laughed she hid her face against his throat.

He murmured in her ear, "If you feel any itches anywhere I'll be glad to scratch them."

Honey giggled like a schoolgirl. She felt so carefree! If only it could always be like this, laughter and loving, with no thought of the future to spoil it. Honey nibbled on Jesse's ear and heard him hiss in a breath of air.

"Keep that up, woman, and we won't make it to the barn," he warned.

Honey was feeling in a dangerous mood. She teased his ear with her tongue, tracing the shell-like shape of it. She shrieked when Jesse teas-ingly threatened to drop her.

At the barn door he stopped and stood her before him so he could look at her.

When Honey caught sight of his face she knew she was playing with fire. His dark eyes were heavy-lidded, his features taut with desire. His nostrils flared and his hands tightened on her flesh. Her whole body tensed in response to his obvious sexual hunger.

Her fingertips caressed his cheekbones and slid up from his temple into the thick black hair at his nape. "I want you, Jesse."

Her words were like a match on tinder. Jesse's mouth came down on hers, his tongue thrusting in a mirror image of that age-old dance between men and women. Her fingers clutched at his hair, forcing his hat off his head. She grabbed hold of him as though to keep from flying off into the unknown. For nothing Jesse did to her from then on was like anything that had ever happened to her before.

His mouth found her nipple through her thin cotton shirt, rousing her to passion. His hand slid down the front of her jeans and cupped the heat and heart of her. He urged her hand down to the hard bulge that threatened the seams of his Levi's. He thrust against her, his desire a stronger aphrodisiac than any shaman's love potion.

They stood just inside the barn door, and Jesse molded them together belly to belly as he backed her out of the sunlight and into the shadows. "It's time you and I had a talk about what happens when you tease a man," Jesse rasped, pressing her up against the barn wall with his body.

He insinuated his thigh between her legs and lifted her so she could feel the heat and pressure of his flesh against that most sensitive of feminine places. Meanwhile he cupped a breast in one hand while the other captured her nape to hold her still for the onslaught of his mouth and the invasion of his tongue.

"Honey," he rasped. "I can't get enough of you, the feel of you, the taste of you."

Honey was overwhelmed. She couldn't breathe. She couldn't move. She could only respond to the sensations that assaulted her. Her knees collapsed and Jesse had to hold her upright.

Abruptly he left her and she leaned against the rough wooden walls, legs outstretched, while he grabbed a clean saddle blanket and spread it hurriedly over the fresh, crackling straw in an empty stall at the back of the barn.

She felt his urgency as he returned to lift her into his arms and carry her to the blanket, laying her down carefully before mantling her with his body.

Honey looked up into eyes that were narrowed in concentration on her, fierce, dark eyes that should have frightened her but only made her wild with anticipation.

Slowly, slowly, Jesse began unbuttoning her shirt. His mouth caressed her flesh as he exposed it, until he reached the button on her Levi's. The button hardly made a sound as it fell free, but her zipper grated noisily as he slid it down. His mouth followed where his hands had led and soon he was nuzzling at the very apex of her thighs.

Honey reached for whatever part of him she could grasp, but when he nipped her through her silken panties her nails curved into the muscles of his back.

"Jesse!"

He sat up to pull off her boots and then his own. She yanked off her socks and then his, grinning at the sight of his long naked feet. He started to unsnap his shirt, but she stopped him.

"Let me."

She offered him the same enjoyment he had given her, exposing his bronze skin one snap at a time and caressing it with her lips and tongue. Intrigued by his distended nipples she forayed across his chest to nibble gently on one.

His whole body tensed, and he held himself motionless while she tested his control He didn't last long. A moment later she found herself flat on her back, Jesse astride her.

"Play with fire and you can get burned, woman."

He unsnapped the front clasp of her bra and brushed it aside as he took one of her nipples in his mouth to tease it with his tongue. Honey arched upward with her hips and encountered the hardness of his arousal.

She grasped his buttocks to pull him close and spread her legs to accommodate him more fully. Jesse returned the pressure as she gently rubbed herself against him.

Abruptly Jesse freed himself from her grasp and began stripping her. She was equally urgent in her efforts to undress him until moments later they stared at each other in the filtered sunlight.

"God, you're beautiful," he said reverently.

Honey felt herself flushing with pleasure at the compliment. She knew he wasn't merely mouthing the words. His delight was mirrored in his eyes.

"I'm glad I please you."

The gentle touch of his mouth on hers was like a paean to a goddess. He honored her. He revered her. He desired her. His lips and mouth and tongue adored her. The kisses that began at her mouth continued downward to her throat, found their way to her breasts, then to her belly and beyond.

Honey stiffened and reached out a hand to grip his shoulder. She hadn't expected this. She wasn't sure whether she wanted it.

Jesse raised his eyes to hers. "I want to taste all of you," he said.

In all the years they had been married, Cale had never loved her this way. It was the most intimate of kisses. And it required complete trust. Jesse was aware of that, and he awaited her consent. Honey was wired as tight as a bowstring, anxious to please him, afraid she wouldn't, afraid of the unknown. Of that forbidden pleasure.

She had always wondered what it would feel like, always wondered whether it truly brought the immeasurable ecstasy that made it something to be whispered about. All she had to do was trust Jesse enough to allow him to love her as he so clearly wanted to do.

She opened her mouth to agree, but no sound came out. She swallowed hard and slowly nodded her head.

Jesse's quick grin surprised her. "You won't be sorry," he said. Just as quickly the grin disappeared. "You only have to say the word and I'll stop. This is supposed to please us both. All right?"

Honey nodded again.

She was surprised when he rose and kissed her on the mouth again. He took his time kissing his way back down her body, but she knew where he was heading. By the time he got there she was more aroused than she could ever remember being.

For Jesse had not relied on his mouth alone to make that journey. His callused hands had smoothed across her flesh, rinding her breasts and teasing them, taunting her by rolling her nipples between fingers and thumb. He had caressed ribs and hipbones and the length of her back from her nape to the dimples at the curve of her spine. She was sure she would find impressions of his fingers on her buttocks where he had lazily learned the shape of them.

Finally he lifted her in his hands while his tongue teased her. She gasped as her body tautened. She grabbed handfuls of the wool blanket to keep from touching him, lest he think she wanted him to stop. For she didn't. Oh, no, she did not!

Honey felt the ripples building, felt her inner flesh clenching, felt the muscles in her thighs tighten until she could not move. And still he kissed her. Loved her. Teased her with his mouth and tongue.

She moaned and writhed in pleasure. Her body arched toward him and at last her hands reached for him, clutching at his shoulders as though he could save her from the cataclysmic-wondrous, astounding, remarkable- things her body threatened to do.

Honey did not want to let go of what little control she had left. There was no hiding the strong muscular contractions as she began climaxing beneath him. Excited, animal sounds came from her throat as she convulsed with pleasure.

Jesse met her eyes and watched the agony of ecstasy that she could not hide from him.

When it was over, she turned her face away from him. Her throat was swollen with emotion and tears stung her eyes.

"Honey?"

She heard the anxiety in his voice and tried to reassure him. But no sound would pass over the lump in her throat. She reached out and grasped his hand.

He lay down beside her and brushed a sweat-dampened lock of hair from her brow. "Are you all right?"

She nodded jerkily.

"You're not acting all right," he said.

She hid her face in his throat and clutched him around the waist.

He continued smoothing her hair and rubbing her back gently. She couldn't see his face, but she could feel from the tension in his body that he was troubled. She wanted to reassure him that she was all right, but she was simply so overwhelmed by what had happened that words did not seem sufficient to explain how she felt.

Eventually her breathing calmed and her throat relaxed. "It was so…"

Jesse put a finger under her chin and forced her eyes up to meet his. "So what?"

"Beautiful," she whispered.

He hugged her hard then and rocked her back and forth. "I'm glad," he said. "I'm so glad. I was afraid-"

"It was wonderful," she said. Then, shyly, "I only hope you're going to give me the pleasure of returning the favor."

He grinned. "Someday soon," he promised. "Right now, there's something more I want from you."

"What's that?"

"This."

He nudged her knees apart and sheathed himself easily in her still half-aroused body.

When he kissed her again, Honey found the taste of herself still on his lips. She gave back to him that which he had given her. She was far beyond rational thought by that time, only wanting to join herself with him in any way she could.

Honey touched Jesse's body everywhere she could reach as he sought to bring her to a second pinnacle of pleasure. She wasn't really conscious of how she caressed him, but moved her hands in response to the way he arched his sinewy body beneath her, the way he moved toward her touch or away from it. By sheer luck she found a spot-the crease where belly met thighs-that made him shudder with pleasure.

Jesse did not allow her time to tarry. He lifted her legs up over his thighs and took them both on a journey of delight. After she had fallen off the world yet again, he poured his seed into her, his head arched back in ecstasy, every muscle taut with unspeakable pleasure.

Afterward, they both slept. It was nearly dark by the time Honey wakened. Jesse's head rested on his hand and he was staring down at her as though memorizing her features.

"It's late," she said.

"We'd better get dressed/' he agreed.

Neither of them moved.

"After tonight, I'll be finished with my work here," Jesse said at last.

Honey closed her eyes to hide the myriad emotions vying for dominance. "When will you be leaving?"

"Honey, I…"

She opened her eyes. "I'll miss you," she admitted. She reached up to touch his mouth with a fingertip. Was she responsible for the sensuous look of his swollen lower lip?

He took her hand in his and kissed each finger. "I love you, Honey. Will you marry me?"

Honey was so shocked her mouth fell open.

He nudged at her chin with a bent finger. "Catch a lot of flies that way," he teased in a husky voice.

But Honey saw how his hand trembled when he took it away. It was clear that despite his levity he cared a great deal about how she answered. She was so tempted to say yes! But it wasn't fair to marry Jesse without expressing the reservations she harbored.

"Are you willing to quit the Rangers?" she asked.

"Are you making that a condition of your acceptance?" he answered in a sharp voice.

Honey took a deep breath and said, "Yes, I think I am."

He was on his feet an instant later, pulling on his pants. "That's totally unreasonable, Honey, and you know it!" he ranted.

She was suddenly embarrassed to be naked when he was dressed. She grabbed at her shirt and stuck her arms into the sleeves. Honey searched for her panties and found them across the stall. She turned her back on Jesse to step into them and was conscious of the silence as she did. Over her shoulder she discovered him ogling her bottom.

She yanked her panties on and dragged her jeans over her legs. "I don't see what's so unreasonable about wanting a husband who'll be around to help run this ranch!"

"I'd be around!" he insisted.

"In between assignments," she retorted. "You forget, I've already been married to one Texas Ranger. You're as bad as Cale."

"Don't tar me with the same brush."

"How are you different?" she demanded. "You can't deny you take the same foolish, dangerous chances with your life that he did. And look what happened to him! I couldn't bear it if-"

Honey cut herself off and went searching for her socks.

Jesse grabbed her by the arms and forced her to face him. "I know you love me," he began.

"That isn't the point," Honey interrupted…

"Then you do love me?"

He stood there waiting for an answer. Honey grimaced and admitted, "I love you but-"

Jesse cut her off with a hard kiss. "Then all the rest is small stuff. We can work it out."

"You're not listening to me," Honey said, her voice rising as she felt control of the situation slipping away. "I won't marry you, Jesse. Not unless you're willing to give up the Rangers."

His mouth thinned in anger. "You're asking the impossible."

"Why is it impossible? There are other challenges in life besides hunting down outlaws."

"Like what?"

"Like raising kids. Like making a success of this ramshackle ranch. Like growing a garden. Like spending the afternoon making sweet, sweet love to your wife."

He captured her in his arms and nuzzled her throat. "The last part of that certainly sounds promising."

Honey remained stiff in his embrace, fighting the tears that threatened. "Listen to me," she pleaded. "I'm fighting for our life together."

His head jerked up and he glared down at her. "So am I," he insisted. "You're asking me to give up,what I am."

Honey shook her head sadly. "No, Jesse. It's just a job. You can quit."

"And if I won't?"

She pushed at his shoulders, forcing him to release her. "Then I guess this is goodbye."

His lips flattened. "You don't mean that."

Her chin lifted and her shoulders squared. "Goodbye, Jesse."

She turned and marched barefoot from the barn, leaving Jesse to stare at her stiff back. "Damned fool woman," he muttered. "Can't expect me to give up everything for her. She's crazy if she thinks I will. No woman is worth that kind of sacrifice."

It was a sober and contemplative man who left the barn. The best thing to do was put the situation with Honey out of his mind and concentrate on his rendezvous with the rustlers. It wouldn't do to let himself get distracted. Honey was right about one thing. A Texas Ranger led a dangerous life. He had to pay attention to what he was doing tonight or he might end up getting himself killed. He snorted in disgust. He would hate like hell to prove Honey right about the dangers of his job.